Effingham's Jeremy Wohltman Leads Indiana Tech To Win, College Roundup

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Published on December 5 2013 7:18 am
Last Updated on December 5 2013 7:18 am
Written by Millie Lange

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Despite trailing by as many as seven points, the Indiana Tech men’s basketball team was able to escape Concordia Gymnasium with a 54-52 victory over Concordia University on Wednesday night.

The Warriors (7-4, 4-1) got off to a slow start on offense, falling behind 5-0, before tying the game and eventually taking an early one point lead at 6-5 and 8-7. It was short-lived though as Concordia stretched the lead to five with a 6-0 run, eventually leading by as many as seven, 22-15 with 4:38 left in the first half. Tech was able to convert two free throws just before the half to cut the lead to five, 24-19.

Tech committed just five turnovers in the period while CU committed eight. The Warriors finished the period just 6-of-22 (27.3%) from the field while converting 5-of-8 (62.5%) chances from the free throw line. The Cardinals finished the period 9-for-22 (40.9%) from the floor while converting 3-of-4 (75%) from the charity stripe. Jeremy Wohltman (Effingham, Ill.) led all scorers with seven first half points while Parker Stouffer (Wabash, Ind.) was the high rebounded with five.

Tech scored on their first two possessions of the second half to cut the lead to one, however, the Cardinals scored the next six points to lead by seven again. A run by the Warriors tied the game at 30, the first of six second half ties. Concordia led by seven twice in the second period, but the Warriors didn’t go away, keeping the game close until the final three minutes, when Tech held CU to just one point, while scoring three to win the contest 54-52.

The Orange and Black finished the contest with 12 turnovers to 14 for the Cardinals, and narrowly outshot Concordia. Tech finished 17-for-44 (38.6%) while going 4-for-12 (33%) from three and finished 16-for-24 (66%) from the free throw line. The defense was stiff as well, limiting CU to 18-for-48 (37.5%) from the field and a 4-for-11 (36.4%) from long range. The Cardinals did finish 12-of-18 (66.7%) from the charity stripe.

“We came out slow and struggled offensively in the early going,” stated Head Coach Al Grushkin. “We were eventually able to slow the game down and our guys guarded really well on the defensive end. Jeremy Wohltman played all 40 minutes tonight and without him we don’t win this contest. We found a starting group that played well together and they fought hard to win tonight.”

Wohltman finished with a game-high 23 points while also grabbing 7 rebounds while Stouffer finished the game with 12 points and 12 rebounds, his first double-double of the season.

John Schaeffer was the high scorer for Concordia, finishing with 15 points.

The Warriors return to the Schaefer Center on Saturday, Dec. 7 when they host Siena Heights in a WHAC contest scheduled to tip at 6 p.m.

 

Western Illinois Downs EIU Men

MACOMB, Ill.  – The Panther men’s basketball team was held to a season-low .240 field-goal percentage as they dropped a 60-32 contest at in-state rival Western Illinois. EIU drops to 3-5 on the year.

WIU started the contest on a 5-0 run before the Panthers tied the game on back-to-back baskets by Mat Piotrowski and Jake Verhagen at the 16:43 mark. EIU would go 5-for-23 from the floor for the remainder of the half as the Fighting Leathernecks (3-4) built a double-digit advantage to take their largest lead of the half, 37-17, into intermission.

The poor shooting continued into the second half as the Panthers went 5-for-23 from the floor. WIU held onto their double-figure advantage the entire second stanza and led by as much as 29 points (60-31) with just over a minute left in the game.

Josh Piper led the Panthers with five points while four other players added four points. Adam Link scored a game-high 12 points for the Leathernecks on 6-for-11 shooting. Mike Miklusak added eight points for the Leathernecks as WIU finished the contest hitting 43.9 percent of its shots (25-for-57).

WIU held a 42-33 advantage on the glass while adding a season-high 10 blocks and 11 steals. Sherman Blanford had a team-high seven rebounds for EIU while Michael Ochereobia paced WIU with nine.

WIU outscored the Panthers 36-12 in the paint and scored 17 points off of turnovers. WIU also had 14 more second chance points (18-4) and six more bench points (24-18).

The Panthers return to action on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. Fans attending the home EIU FCS Playoff football game at 1 p.m. against Tennessee State can receive $2 off general admission tickets to the men’s basketball game against the Sycamores.


EIU Women Claim Win Over Bradley

PEORIA, Ill. – Sabina Oroszova tied two school records as she powered Eastern Illinois to a 71-67 win over Bradley on Wednesday night at the Renaissance Coliseum.  Oroszova scored 38 points with 16 made field goals as EIU improved to 3-5.  Bradley fell to 2-5.

Oroszova started her record setting night combining with Katlyn Payne to score the Panthers first 15 points of the game.   Oroszova scored nine early points while Payne sank two 3-pointers in the first 4:11 of the game.

Jordyne Crunk’s 3-pointer with 15:05 stretched EIU’s lead to double figures at 20-9 and Taryn Olson’s lay-up with 13:25 to play in the first half pushed the Panthers lead to 27-11.